I wanted to write this blog as a reminder that people can surprise you. At a time where there seems to be more hate than ever in the world, a little love and kindness can go a long long way. Whether it is a smile, a “thank you” or holding the door for someone, being kind to the humans around you can make all the difference. You never know, you might even make someone’s day.
“No Man Is An Island”
Today my day was made. Today a stranger restored my faith in humanity. Allow me to set the scene. I was scouring a busy car park for a space. I had a queue of impatient cars behind me and was running out of time before an important job interview. It is fair to say I was more than a little stressed.
I slowly swung in to a small space (beggars can’t be choosers) and quickly discovered I was stuck on the corner of a concrete wall. Brilliant. I had not crashed or damaged my car before this and it was traumatising to say the least. Luckily, a nearby stranger came to my rescue.
The gentleman calmed me down, looked over the damage with me and directed me out of the space and into a newly vacant one behind us. His support and friendliness made a huge difference to how I dealt with the situation. He reminded me in my moment of minor crisis that no one got hurt and ultimately it is only a car.
I wish I could meet this stranger again and thank him for the kindness he showed me. He didn’t know me and is unlikely to see me again yet he took 10 minutes out of his day to make sure I was alright. Many of you reading this might think “anyone would do that” or “that isn’t a big deal”, but to me it was. No one else in the car park stopped to check if everything was ok yet more than a few people saw and heard me crunch on concrete.
The point I am trying to make is that I find it too easy to forget that everyone around me has their own problems to deal with and their own battles to fight. It is too easy to forget that everyone else on that busy train or in this queue of traffic has somewhere to get to. For me it is of absolute importance that we treat everyone around us with kindness. Referring back to Donne’s poem, no man is an island and yet sometimes we act like ones. Everybody is someone’s daughter or son or partner or friend and in a world of so much hate I think it is crucial to show a little love now and again.
Every cloud 